Dick Ames, a generous University of Minnesota donor and the founder of Ames Construction, passed away Wednesday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz..

Ames, 89, had an illness and was surrounded by family when he died, his company said.

In 1962, Ames purchased a used Caterpillar bulldozer to start a small business in Burnsville, one he kept in the family and built into a national civil and industrial general contractor, according to biographical information shared by his company.

Though he wasn’t a U alum, he donated millions of dollars and supported Gophers athletic programs regardless of their success.

Undated courtesy photo of Dick Ames, founder of Ames Construction, who passed away aged 89 on Jan. 30, 2019 at his Arizona home after a short illness. (Courtesy of Ames Construction)

Ames, who grew as a football, basketball and track athlete with a commitment to the family farm in Farmington. He attended Mankato State Teachers College with aspirations to become a coach but left after one year and returned to farming.

Ames’ role with the U grew and he was on the search committee that hired Glen Mason as its head football coach in 1996; Mason then benefited from Ames being a confidant and financial contributor.

Mason described Ames as the “best supporter” in his 35 years of coaching college football.

“First of all, he was very, very generous from a monetary standpoint,” Mason told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. “Unlike my experience with a lot of donors at various places, when they are that generous, they want to have more influence than maybe they should. Dick was one of those guys that was very, very generous and just wanted to be supportive and helpful and never asked for anything in return.”

While Ames’s business grew to offices in five other states and projects nationwide, Ames and his company took pride in helping build Burnsville, including work on the Burnsville Center, residential housing, Interstate 35W and other roads.

Throughout, Ames attended many U sporting events, including home and road football games.

“Many times when the university was fundraising, he was one of the first people that they went to talk to,” Mason said. But at the same time, he was a “very private guy and he wasn’t looking for any fanfare or credit.”

Attention came anyway in 2002, when Ames won the Golden Gopher Fund Director’s Award given to top U benefactors for dedication to the school.

“He was always willing to give his time and resources for the betterment of our students and was as loyal as they come,” Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed, but his philanthropic impact on our community will last forever.”

Ames was the oldest of nine children and worked on the family farm with his father, Chester, before his one year of college. He then went back to farming with his grandfather until he started his business. He was an avid horseman at his Arizona home and maintained farming as hobby, growing corn and beans in Green Isle, Minn.

“The thing about Dick that I always respected is that he wasn’t one of those guys that was born on third base and think they hit a triple,” Mason said. “Dick wasn’t born on first base. … Dick was a guy that started from nothing and built that company up through just his hard work and determination and fortitude and guts.”

Current U football coach P.J. Fleck and his wife Heather were welcomed to Minnesota by Ames in January 2017.

“I had the pleasure to get to know him on a personal and professional level and nobody cared more about the Gophers than Dick,” Fleck said. “He always wanted to know how he could help and wanted nothing more than to see his beloved Gophers succeed. Heather and I will miss his kindness and bright smile, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

Dick is survived by his wife, Lollie, as well as four brothers, three sisters, two sons, two daughters, two stepsons, a stepdaughter, 14 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are being made and will be announced later, Ames Construction said.

Andy Greder covers the Gophers and Minnesota United for the Pioneer Press. Since joining the paper full time in November 2013, he has also covered the Timberwolves as a beat and spot duty from the Vikings to high schools. He was a part-time breaking news reporter at the Pioneer Press from 2011-13, when he was also a freelance writer and organic farmer. He started at the Duluth News Tribune in 2006, covering sports, news and business until living abroad in 2010.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Minnesota Gophers

It’s one thing for a pitcher to win with her best stuff. Winning without it, that’s something else entirely -- especially in the biggest game of your career against maybe the best team you’ve faced all season. “It wasn’t my best day,” Minnesota junior Amber Fiser said, “and I’ll be back tomorrow.” No, she didn't have her best stuff on...

Another Gophers football recruit won't be coming to Minnesota. Randal Grimes, a former Southern California receiver, will not stick to his verbal pledge to transfer to Minnesota and instead will stay near his hometown with a new commitment to Nevada-Las Vegas. Grimes committed to Minnesota after a visit to campus in January. “I wanted to thank coach P.J. Fleck and...

OMAHA, Neb. — Jordan Kozicky and Eli Wilson each drove in two runs and the University of Minnesota baseball team upset top-seeded Indiana 9-4 on Thursday, knocking the Hoosiers out of the Big Ten Tournament with back-to-back losses. Kozicky and Wilson helped power Minnesota’s three-run fifth inning by driving in runs. Wilson made it 7-4 by driving a home run...

It did not require much convincing for Maddie Houlihan to commit to the University of Minnesota. Only an offer. On the wall of the teenager's bedroom was a signed poster of the 2010 Gophers softball team. The Plymouth native regularly attended games in high school, recalling an Easter Sunday afternoon spent at a Gophers game, then rushing to her grandparents...

OMAHA, Neb. — Spencer Schwellenbach's bases-loaded double highlighted Nebraska's five-run third inning, and the fifth-seeded Cornhuskers went on to beat No. 4 seed Minnesota 8-2 in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night. Matt Waldron (6-3) scattered six singles, walked none and struck out nine in 7 1/3 innings as the Cornhuskers (29-20) won for the fifth time in six...